


Rise of the Tiny Guardians

by ClockStrikesMidnight



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Crack, Kid!Guardians, M/M, Maybe slash later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 04:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/658156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockStrikesMidnight/pseuds/ClockStrikesMidnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An old, nearly forgotten magic is reawakened, as Pitch accidently turns the Guardians into five year olds. With the challenge of becoming a father (again), Pitch might find in himself what's it's like to be good again, or bring upon the most destructive blow the world has ever seen.<br/>Jack/Pitch later on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Accident

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first venture into the Rise of the Guardians FanFiction world, so hopefully this turns out alright! I'm going to try to get this updated often (Fingers crossed) but no promises :( This story is going to become BlackIce, I can assure you of that, it's just going to take a while, so for now, enjoy the fluffy, angsty little Guardians! :)

It had been twenty years. Twenty years of never hearing a word from the Guardians, twenty years of waiting for them to stop one of his countless crimes against the children’s innocent lives, twenty years of waiting to see what they’d do next.

Pitch hadn’t been particularly busy since the fall of himself and the rise of the ever faithful Guardians twenty years ago. Exiled to his underground wonderland, he rarely visited the surface, except when the need was very great. Pitch’s powers had been draining ever since that day when the children stopped fearing the name ‘The Boogeyman’, and Pitch had been worn down to a hollow shell without the fear to feed on.  Occasionally he’d risk sending out a few of his Nightmares to the above ground world, basking in the fear they’d bring back after only an hour of work. Other times, the Nightmare King himself would venture away from his home and drink the fear right out of the children’s soul.

He’d missed it so much.

However, all good things, sadly, must come to an end, and that’s why, twenty years later, Pitch stands surrounded by the Guardians, all weaponry pointed directly at him as he tries desperately to defend himself with the little power he’d gained in his meal.

“Pitch, long time no see, buddy.” Jack Frost is at the head of the circle; his Shepherd’s Crook staff nestled against Pitch’s collar bone.  “I was starting to think the King of Fear was afraid of us,” he continues, his voice rising to a tone similar to one used on a young child who’s not the brightest bulb in the box.

“How kind of you to worry, Frost,” Pitch spits, using his hand that’s not wielding his beloved scythe to brush off Jack’s staff. Jack snorts in response but doesn’t move the weapon away from the Boogeyman’s face.

North steps forward with one of his mighty swords held tightly in his hand, and oh my does Pitch remember the hell those blades have brought to him. So long ago it seemed that those swords destroyed him for the first time. “Pitch, what are you doing above ground?” North asks seriously, his blue eyes glistening with an unspoken worry.

Pitch chuckles softly, stepping away from the area of Jacks staff and gliding along the circle of enemies. “Now, now, North, you must know that just because you dropped me into a hole in the ground and buried me, does not mean that I cannot dig again,” Pitch says, pausing by Toothiana and shooting her a particularly hostile look, still feeling sour about his lost tooth.

“But why return?” North asks and Pitch outright cackles.

“Do you not understand, old man? I need fear to survive, and just because I might not be in the mood to destroy your beautiful little cliché, doesn’t mean that I’m just going to die down there!” Pitch says, resuming his walking until he stands in front of North. “No matter what, you will never release the world from the Boogey—“

He hears the boomerang coming before he sees it and turns around to find it hurtling at his face. Ducking quickly, he spins his body so that the scythe is pointed to Bunnymund, letting out a scream as he throws it down, missing the rabbit by only a hair. He feels the ice crawling up his legs and looks over at Jack Frost, his staff shooting ice at Pitch’s feet and freezing him to the spot.

Pitch summons Nightmares, watching them fly up through the sewage pipes and attack Sanderson on impulse. The little man jumps onto his cloud of golden sand and uses his whips to fight the Nightmares back one by one. Pitch drops himself down into the shadows cast by his body and slips out of the hold Jack’s ice had him in and shoots a stream of black sand at the youngest Guardians face, throwing him backwards against a tree.

Tooth flies forward, silent if not for Pitch’s trained ears and she meets him head on, her tiny fists enveloped by Pitch’s much larger hands. He throws her down to the ground with a laugh and ducks another boomerang that’s flying towards him.

It’s only when Sandy shows up, that things get difficult.

The Dream Spirit shoots him from behind, knocking him over and blinding him in a waterfall of golden sand. Pitch growls in annoyance, pushing himself out of the painful light and face to face with the floating Sandman. Sandy smiles cutely, and Pitch knows better than to sit and wait for the blow as Sandman’s palm flies forward, shooting out a jet of sand. The Boogeyman dodges it just in time, returning the favor with a spray of black sand to Sanderson as he crumples to the ground.

Being distracted by the tiny Guardian didn’t help Pitch at all, and he smirks in disgust as the Guardians are now surrounding him, only a few feet away, poised for death this time. Pitch stops, thinks on what he can do to get out of this seemingly impossible situation, and then it hits him. Laughing gleefully, Pitch brings his hands together in front of him, summoning a magic to his palms that he hasn’t felt for years. A ball of black and purple light form between his hands, writhing and screaming to be released as it grows bigger and bigger. The Guardians watch in fear as the ball grows, until it’s almost too big to be between the oldest spirit’s hands, then he claps and sends the light dancing around the circle, surrounding the Guardians and causing them to scream, not in pain, but in confusion.

After the spell is done being placed, the lights vanish, leaving Pitch standing in the middle of a circle that’s much smaller than it was seconds before. Dust spins around the ground, clouding most of his vision.

Pitch looks down as the dust separates, shocked at what he finds.

The spell was supposed to rid the Guardians of their powers, cause them to fall back to how they were twenty years ago, unseen, not believed in. It seems the spell had other plans in mind, as Pitch watches, horrified, as five tiny Guardians emerge from the swirling dust and debris.


	2. Chapter Two

“Oh you have got to be kidding me. . .”

Pitch stared in amazement, as five miniaturized Guardians sat before him, each one looking confused and dazed. They all were almost the spitting image of their older selves, although now with less bulk and threatening aspects.

“Why is that whenever I attempt to use magic it always backfires on me?” Pitch growls to himself, watching as Tooth accidentally tips herself over and starts crying.

Tiny Jack looks over in worry, wobbling over to the hysterical Toothiana’s side, helping her sit back up and whipping a small tear from her puffy, pink cheek.

Almost instantly, Bunny speaks. “Jack likes Toothy, Jack likes Toothy!” The tiny, still hairy, Bunnymund screeches, his voice much higher and childlike than before. He points a chubby finger accusingly at the two other children, and Jack sticks his tongue out.

Pitch glares in astonishment and bitterness as the children argue about pathetic crushes. Jack is almost exactly the same as his older self, his white hair splayed on his head in a messy fashion, his tiny hoodie bunched along his waist and his pants ending at just above his ankles. Pitch continues to watch as the argument between Bunny and Jack gets more heated, the other small Guardians looking on like watching a high profile case. Pitch raises his eyebrow in thought, stepping backwards and turning to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Pitch cringes, spinning on his heel to face tiny Jack, his pudgy arms crossed in front of his chest. “I was hoping to leave you alone to your quarrels.”

“You cannot leave us alone, you know. You are like parent to us now,” North pipes up, his Russian accent still very heavy.

Pitch snorts. “I am not responsible for you imps.”

“Hey, that’s a bad word!” Jack yells, stomping his foot for emphasis.

Pitch narrows his eyes at the child, who cowers back slightly. “You don’t honestly believe I’m going to take in you five _children._ I couldn’t stand you in your normal size what makes you think I’ll be able to stand you now?”

“Please, Mister Pitch, we don’t have anywhere else to go,” Tooth murmurs, her voice so silky and innocent it causes Pitch to remember things he’d rather forget.

The voice however pushes right through him, stinging him somewhere in his cold, dark heart. It’s like _her_ voice, the voice that led him to become who he is now.

He can’t ignore that voice again.

“Fine, come with me, and if I hear a word out of any of you, I’m bringing you back here,” Pitch says with a sigh, watching as each tiny body shuffles forward. Jack runs to the front, seeming to think he’s the leader of this expedition, but Pitch nudges him back behind him. Sandy is at the end, his body being the only one to remain almost the exact same.

“Pitch,” Jack asks, nudging at the taller man’s arm.

“What did I say about talking?” Pitch snarls back at him.

“You won’t leave us, I know you won’t,” Jack says snottily, and Pitch is seriously regretting his life choices right now. “Where are you taking us?”

“To my lair,” Pitch deadpans.

“Where’s that?”

“Underground.”

“Why?”

“Do you _ever_ get tired of hearing yourself talk?” Pitch snaps, spinning around and bending down to lay a finger on Jack’s pinkish nose.

“No.” Jack smiles, swatting Pitch’s finger away.

“Well it’s good to know you still have your attitude,” Pitch says under his breath, catching the eye of a nervous looking Toothiana before turning around and continuing on his way.

“Pitch, I’m hungry,” Bunny calls from somewhere behind North. Pitch visibly quivers in distaste.

“Go eat a carrot or something,” Pitch offers, ignoring the fact that he will likely need to be getting things for these children.

“Now where am I supposed to get a carrot?” Bunny retorts, his accent still obnoxiously thick.

“Well you are a rabbit, you could go dig for one,” Jack jokes, yelping when he receives a swat on the back of his head.

“Hey! No fighting!” North booms stepping between them. Jack makes a stupid face at Bunny and gets another swat, courtesy of North this time.

They walk until they reach the damaged bed frame that is the entrance to Pitch’s home, the wooden bars creaking and swaying in the light wind. Pitch jumps unexpectedly as two tiny hands curl around his own, and he looks down to see Tooth cowering behind his back.

“Mister Pitch, I’m scared,” she whimpers, tightening her grip slightly. Pitch internally groans, forgetting that these are little kids with normal fears and phobias, unlike the ever so strong Guardians he’s grown to know and love.

He wants to tell her to suck it up and go, but that voice gets to him again and he finds himself clutching her hands back. “Don’t be scared,” he says, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze before jumping into the dark pit. The others follow after him, Jack screaming in enjoyment the whole way. Finally they land, Pitch gracefully on his feet, still holding Tooth’s hand so she doesn’t fall, and turning to watch as the boys tumble in. Jack’s giggling like a school girl, spinning around slightly. He must have hit his head.

“Pitch, I’m still hungry!” Bunny announces, and Pitch rolls his eyes.

“And I’m still suggesting you go dig for something!” He shoots back, his eyes glowing a dangerous gold.

“You mean you have no food for us?” North asks quietly, and Pitch suddenly is overwhelmed with a guilt that’s most unwelcome. Yes, they are his enemies, yes he does loathe each one of them, but he did turn them into children. Children who, however hard it is to cope with, act like any other five year old child. Children who have needs for  nutrition, more so than the adult Guardians.

He doesn’t know why he isn’t just scaring them to death right now, why he’s actually feeling kind enough to take them into his home. He has no explanation.

So after a few moments he sighs and says, “I’ll see what I can find.” He leads the kids into the kitchen, trying to ignore the sound of Nightmares approaching them. Probably the most surprising thing about Pitch is the fact that he has the most modern kitchen you could ever dream of. He has a fridge, which is filled with fruits and vegetables, and a sink and cabinets filled with various flavors of tea. He even has an astonishing amount of Oreos and cereal.

“Ooooh, can I have an Oreo, Pitch?” Little Jack asks, running forward to grab the box. Pitch grunts and gives it to him, not caring enough to risk a tantrum.

“One each,” Pitch says.

“What?! One?! That’s not enough!” Bunny argues, stuffing the cookie in his bucktoothed mouth.

“If you’re still hungry you can eat some fruit,” Pitch says, making his way out of the kitchen. He hears the children arguing in the background about things he does not care to listen to, so he walks to his ‘living room’ per say, plopping himself down onto the love seat and sprawling onto his back, his legs extended in front of him. There’s a huff in his ear, and he opens an eye to find two Nightmares staring at him. One cocks its head to the side in question, while the other one mindlessly neighs. “Don’t hurt them,” Pitch orders, and the Nightmare nods before turning to trot away.

Pitch sighs, soothing into the loveseat and closing his eyes, only to be interrupted seconds later by a cry for help. It’s not one the Guardians, he knows, because he’s heard this cry before, almost every night, and he knows who it belongs to. He opens his eyes and looks over, finding the ghost of the little girl standing beside him. She looks so real every time he sees her, but whenever he reaches out she vanishes like dust. Her face is sad, tears glistening in the corner of her beautiful brown eyes.

“Why did you let me go?” She whispers, and Pitch’s lips form a response, before he’s startled by a loud crash. The body of the girl disperses, leaving no trace of her ever being there.

Seconds later, little Tooth shyly comes around the corner, her amethyst eyes full of worry.

“Mister Pitch, we need your help,” she says, and Pitch groans, shaking his head to try to forget what he just saw form before him. He stands and walks over to assess the damage these children have caused within minutes of being in his home. When he enters, he sees nothing out of the ordinary. He looks at Sandy, his small, round body still glowing with golden sand. The little man is still incapable of speech, so he points upwards. Pitch follows the arrow cast by the Dream Guardians hand, and finds Jack hanging by one hand from one of his various ornamental bird cages. He smiles worriedly down at the group, waving his hand at his waist.

“What on earth are you doing up there?” Pitch asks, amusement high after the low.

“I uh, the wind picked me up,” Jack stammers, causing the cage to shake.

“Well how do you propose you get down?” Pitch questions, causing Bunny to giggle.

“Can you help me, please?” Jack says, and his voice is full with actual worry now. Presuming that the children must not have the abilities of the Guardians themselves, Pitch gives in, sinking into the shadow cast beneath him and landing on the outside of the cage. He scoops the shaking body of Jack Frost into his arms, going back down to where he came from. He drops him down on his feet, quickly feeling the body wrap around his own. Jack Frost hugging Pitch Black. That’s new.

Jacks body temperature is still below freezing, and it stings Pitch a tad being that his skin is so hot. But he lets the boy continue with his show of gratitude, happy to be released when the time comes.

“Thank you, Pitch,” Jack says solemnly, and it gives Pitch pleasure to know that the boy feels bad about what he’s done.

“Are you going to start behaving now?” Pitch asks, staring at Jack to coax the answer out of him. Jack nods but says nothing, and Pitch catches a glance of Sanderson yawning behind them.  “Bed time?”

Sandy and North nod, and so does Tooth, but the others seem reluctant. Jack is still too full of adrenaline to fall asleep, and Bunny is just stubborn. “It is three against two,” North says, and Pitch releases a small smile.

“Where’re we supposed to sleep?” Bunny asks. Pitch hadn’t thought of that. The lair isn’t the roomiest of places, it’s mostly just winding hallways and never ending staircases.

“The cages?” Tooth asks, and Pitch looks up to the hanging metal boxes. He’d never thought of it, but they would make a good place to sleep. “We need some blankets.”

Pitch, (oddly), has many of those. He disappears for a few seconds, returning with armfuls of blankets and pillows. He calls for Nightmares, ordering them to lower five of the cages to the ground. He drops the pile of comforting items to the floor, and lets each of the children take their picks and make their beds. When they’re all snuggled in tight, Pitch says goodnight and turns to leave before a voice stops him.

“Can you tell us a bedtime story?” Jack asks. Pitch ponders this, not turning around to face them. The last time he’d told a bedtime story was at least five hundred years ago, and it was to her.

“Not tonight,” Pitch says, his voice full of bitter regret and sadness that he doesn’t want to let through. “Just go to sleep.”

He leaves the room, heading to his master bedroom, and doesn’t hear a peep for the rest of the night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also available at my tumblr :) http://gosuckanegg-rabbit.tumblr.com


End file.
